There's already a thread about tech stacks, but none about the tools we use to stay productive and organized.
I figure we could do this every Tuesday. I'm calling them "Toolbox Tuesdays". Show off your tools, config files, and whatever else you use to ship faster.
I'll start with an example.
iTerm2 / Z Shell (zsh).
The terminal can kill or enhance our productivity.
Things every I feel every developer should learn:
- How to use aliases to execute commonly used commands.
- How to configure keyboard shortcuts to navigate the prompt with their keyboard quickly and effectively.
- How to save and use snippets. Makes common admin tasks a lot easier.
- Text expansion to generate things like unique ids.
- How to backup your dotfiles.
- How the prompt can inform you about where you are and what you're doing to limit fuck ups (e.g. commit to the wrong branch).
- Automate the process of setting up a new workstation in the event of hardware failure or upgrades.
- Tiling
- Profiling
- Saving and restoring window arrangements.
- Proper fonts that make it easier to read. Helps prevent eye strain.
- Switch to terminal with a dedicated keyboard shortcut.
I use Mackup to backup most of my dot files, and commit the rest to a USB key (SSH keys, GPG keys, install script for new Macs).
TIP: Search for 'Natural Text Editing' under Profiles > Keys and learn these keyboard shortcuts. I think that's how I enabled the ones below.
- UP arrow :: move through history of previously used commands
- CMD + LEFT/RIGHT arrow key :: move to END or START of line
- ALT + LEFT/RIGHT arrow key :: move ONE word LEFT or RIGHT
- CMD + BACKSPACE :: delete line
- CMD + SHIFT + arrows :: switch to TAB LEFT or RIGHT
- CMD + SHIFT + H :: paste history
- CMD + ALT + arrows :: switch to PANE relative from where you are
- CMD + SEMICOLON :: autocomplete
- CTRL + L :: clear screen of commands
- SHIFT + CMD + I :: bring up iTerm from wherever you are
What tools help you stay productive and organized?